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Han Dong-hoon, the former interim leader of the People Power Party, leaves the National Assembly Communication Building on June 23, 2024, after announcing that he’s running for party chief. (Yonhap)

Han Dong-hoon, the former interim leader of the People Power Party (PPP), declared his bid to become the party chief on Sunday. He also pledged that, if elected, he would lead the ruling party to introduce legislation to assign a special prosecutor to look into the alleged cover-up of the death of a Marine in 2023. 

Han had stepped down as the interim leader after the PPP’s overwhelming defeat in the April 10 general election. Just 73 days later, he’s announced his candidacy for party leadership, which will be decided at a party convention, vowing to “adjust party-government relations to become more horizontal.” 

Han will be competing with fellow party members Na Kyung-won and Yoon Sang-hyun, as well as former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong. While his competitors stressed alignment and unity with the administration of President Yoon Suk-yeol, Han vowed to “reset relations with the presidential office, creating a rift between the pro-Yoon and anti-Yoon factions during the party convention. 

Na, Han and Won held their own respective press conferences at the National Assembly press room at 1 pm, 2 pm and 3 pm on Sunday to publicly announce their candidacies. 

“I will draw from the experiences of our defeat [in the general election] to reform and transform the party to put us back on the path to victory. Our defeat will become the fertile soil for our new beginning,” Han said. 

“I will adjust party-government relations to become more horizontal and redirect the party in a more practical direction,” he added. 

Regarding moves to pass a bill that would assign a special prosecutor to look into alleged outside pressure on the investigation into the death of a marine corporal during a flood rescue mission last summer, Han said, “The Korean people are suspicious. Yet we have squandered several opportunities to lay those suspicions to rest.”

“At this point, I don’t think our party can afford to oppose the special counsel bill. On the contrary, we have to step up and lead the way in passing the bill,” Han declared.   

“I will also not tie the issue of the special counsel bill to the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Individuals and its investigations,” Han said. 

Han pointed out that the special counsel bill currently being pushed by the Democratic Party gives its own party the authority to appoint the special prosecutor. 

“The special prosecutor should not be appointed by the Democratic Party, the People Power Party or the president. To ensure fairness, the special prosecutor must be appointed by a third party,” he said. 

“During the Lee Myung-bak administration, the chief justice of the Supreme Court appointed the independent prosecutor.” 

From left to right, the candidates for People Power Party chief: Na Kyung-won, Won Hee-ryong, Yoon Sang-hyun, and Han Dong-hoon. (Yonhap)

Na and Yoon, however, jumped on the opportunity to snipe at Han by arguing that a special counsel bill is worth considering only if the investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Individuals is insufficient, essentially echoing the presidential office’s stance. 

All the candidates claimed that they were the right person for the job. Na proclaimed herself as “the right person to unite the party and provide balance,” and vowed to “make the conservatives’ dream of reclaiming the parliamentary majority a reality.” 

“We cannot leave the People Power Party to irresponsible, shameless politicians,” she declared.

This was an indirect swipe at Han, essentially blaming him for the PPP’s general election defeat. 

Na emphasized that she has no presidential ambitions, promising not to run in 2027. 

“I have no ambitions to create my own party or sacrifice the party’s interests for my personal political career,” she said. 

Won emphasized his “relationship of trust with the president.”

“I will convey the wishes of the people and of the party to the president, with no embellishments,” he declared.

Won vowed to form an internal party organization, which he called the “red team,” devoted to surveying public sentiment and communicating it to the president.

“We have to unite as a party. Even with all 108 National Assembly seats working in unison, we’re still short,” he said.

“We are all comrades. We have to come together in the next three years to make this current administration a success and to reestablish a National Assembly majority.”

By Shin Min-jung, staff reporter

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